FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS ECO SECRETARY GENERAL
According to the Ministry’s press-service, Mr. Askhat Ozbay express gratitude for active support by Azerbaijan of his candidature to the office Secretary General of the organization. He announced that the preparatory work for the ECO 8th summit to be held in Dushanbe in September 2004 is now in progress. Appreciating activity of Azerbaijan in the framework of the organization, the Secretary General expressed hope for consideration of the issues of Azerbaijan’s joining the Trade Agreement and Institute of Education newly founded under ECO, thanked for timely making payments for membership fees.
Mr. Ashat Ozbay expressed hope as well that important steps would be taken to founding an ECO Center for Economic Statistics in Baku, initiated by national leader Heydar Aliyev during the Istanbul Summit.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov noted that the Economic Cooperation Organization was the first international one, which Azerbaijan to be represented in. Azerbaijan attaches special importance to regional integration processes, and cooperation with ECO in particular, and I hope this one will play an important role in development of the countries, he said. Touching upon the need to create legal frames for promoting trade and ensuring intra-regional investments turnover, the Minister stressed the benefit from bilateral agreements of the organization with a number of member-sates, and signing common agreement. Mr. Mammadyarov also dwelt on the damage caused to the economy by the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and its negative impact on the regional development.
During the meeting, the parties have also discussed a number of other issues of mutual interest.
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